lara morgan – Aussie Reviews

February Reads

Another month has passed, and so it’s time to have a look at what I read for February. Pleasing to see my balance being restored towards my chief love – books for children. This month I indulged my six year old self and tracked down old copies of AA Milne’s poetry from Ebay. I loved rediscovering them and have moved from there to lots of other verse and poetry, so look out for them in my March list and beyond.

I only read 12 books, and several of them were short, which is a reflection of how busy my life has been of late. I’m a so reading a lot of journal articles which don’t make it into this list.

Those I’ve reviewed I’ve linked to, as always.

In Falling Snow	Mary-Rose MacColl	Allen & Unwin	Adult
Red Fox	Sandy Fussell	Walker Books	Children’s
Lost Voices	Christopher Koch	Fourth Estate	Adult
The Rosie Black Chronicles	Lara Morgan	Walker Books	Young Adult
When We Were Very Young	AA Milne	Dean	Children’s Poetry
The Girl From Snowy River	Jackie French	Harper Collins	Young Adult
Now We Are Six	AA Milne	Dean	Children’s Poetry
Stories for 7 Year Olds	Linsay Knight (ed)	Random House	Children’s
Unreviewed			Adult
Rocket Into Space	Ragbir Bhathal and Johanna Davids	National Library	Children’s NF
Topsy-Turvy World	Kirsty Murray	National Library	Children’s NF
Catch the Zolt	Phillip Gwynne	Allen & Unwin	Young Adult

Equinox, by Lara Morgan

Exposing Helios Corporation’s evil should have meant for a change in fortune for Rosie Black. Her Dad is back, and she and her Aunt Essie are safe. But it isn’t as simple as that.

“Helios will leave them alone now. It’s me they want. But you know what this means. If they know I’m alive it means you and Essie aren’t safe any more either.” Riley gave her a significant look.
“Wait, hang on.” She got to her feet. She knew where this was going. “I am not going into hiding,” she said. “No way.”

Exposing Helios Corporation’s evil should have meant for a change in fortune for Rosie Black. Her Dad is back, and she and her Aunt Essie are safe. But it isn’t as simple as that. Helios is still around – just pushed further underground – and Dad is stuck in hospital, where he’ll possibly never leave. Her friend Pip has disappeared, and Riley is keeping things from her. Rosie is going to have to use all her wits – and put her life on the line – to destroy Helios once and for all.

Equinox is the second title in the gripping Rosie Black Chronicles, set five hundred years in the future in Newperth. This dystopian tale picks up not long after the first left off, with familiar characters reuniting and aided by new additions. There is also an increase in the development of the characters – with Rosie showing extra layers of vulnerability against her gritty determination, and her relationships also developing.

Best read as a sequel, Equinox will appeal to teen lovers of speculative fiction.

Equinox (Rosie Black Chronicles), by Lara Morgan
Walker Books, 2011
ISBN 9781921529405

This book is available in good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Genesis, by Lara Morgan

Now on the last line that would fit on the screen, the letters and numbers were slowing and then, when there was hardly any room left, a semicolon appeared and stayed there blinking for a few seconds. Rosie and Juli watched it, holding their breaths as words started forming.
Shore beacon activated. Code entered. Target acquired. Searching …

When Rosie finds a strange box on a scavenging trip, she is intrigued. But when she and her friend Juli open the box, they unleash a terrifying chain of events, which sees Rosie on the run – first across the city and then across the solar system to Mars. Relying on the help of strangers, Rosie must uncover the secrets of the box before it is too late.

Set 500 years in the future, Genesis is a thrilling young adult science fiction offering, the first in a trilogy. Rosie is a battler, a determined girl who is one of the Bankers, an underclass of a much changed society. She is supported by a range of characters, including an aunt she wants to emulate, a man who has his own agendas, and a teen boy for whom she feels a growing attraction. Together, Rosie and her friends work to learn the secrets of the box and save what remains of her family.

Suitable for teen readers who will look forward to the next instalment.

Genesis, by Lara Morgan
Walker Books, 2010
ISBN 9781921529399

This book can be purchased from good bookstores, or online from Fishpond.